Gas mixer



1 June 15, 1943.

F T. JAECKEL GAS MIXER ,Filed NOV. 3, 19A].

IEOR.

ATTORNEY.

- Patented June 15, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE GAS MIXER FrederickT. Jaeckel, Wauwatosa, Wis.

Application November 3, 1941, Serial No. 417,654

3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to improvements in the art of mixinggases and of controlling the flow of gas mixture through conduits, andrelates more specifically to improvements in the construction andoperation of a unit for automatically mixing fuel gas with air andmoisture which may be present in the gas conducting pipe and forinsuring'uniform delivery of the mixture to a burner or other gasutilizing device.

The primary object of my'present invention is to provide a new anduseful gas mixer and flow regulator which is simple and compact inconstruction and which is also highly efiicient in operation.

A more specific object of this'invention is to provide an improved gasmixing device which may be readily constructed and installed in any gassupply pipe of proper size; and which will thereafter function toautomatically 'and thoroughly mix the gas with air or moisture which maybe present so as toproduce a homogeneous mixture, and to also produceuniform flow of the mixture to the gas utilizing 'stove or otherapparatus.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improved gasmixing unit of durable and compact structure, which may be quickly andsafely applied to orremoved from a gas feed'pipe, and which willseparate and collect solid particles being entrained by the gas.

A further specific object of the present invention is to provide anefficient gas mixer which can be manufactured and sold at moderate cost,which may be installed and removed by a novice, and which is especiallyuseful in connection with domestic gas appliances such as cooking stovesand heaters.

These andoth'er objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfromthe following detailed description.

Aclear conception of the various features constituting my presentimprovementmay be had by referring to the drawing accompanying andforming a part of this'specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is 'a central vertical section through one of my improved gasmixers and a fragment of the pipe to which it is applied;

Fig. 2 is a similar section through a modified type of the improved gasmixer and fragment of the pipe to which it is applied;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the assemblage taken along the line3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is likewise a transverse section of the assemblage taken alongthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and I Fig. 5 is-an end viewof the improved gasmixer illustrated in Fig. 1, taken from the convex end thereof.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as beingspecifically applied to a gas mixer manufactured of plastic, hard rubberor metal and adapted for insertion into a gas stove supply pipe, it isnot my desire or intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope orutility of the improvement.

Referring to Figs. 1, -3 and 5 of the drawing, the improved gas mixertherein shown comprises in general, a cylindrical body I0 having -aconcave end II and an opposite convex end *IZ, a well I3 intermediatethe ends II, I2 and .provided with a closure I4, an inlet passage l5extending from the medial portion of the concave end -II to the lowerside wall of the well I3, and an outlet passage I6 extending from theupper side wall of the well I3 to the medial portion of the convex endI2. The body 10 may be formed of either a plastic, hard rubber, ormetallic material and is preferably provided with an integral flange IT,at the concave end II, and-the closure I4 maybe formed of cork, rubber,

asbestos or the like.

The body 10 is adapted to be positioned within the feed or supply lineleading to a gas stove or the like and may be readily inserted at thepoint where two pipe sections I8, I9 of the feed line are ordinarilyunited by a union. The union illustrated in the drawing is in common-usage and consistsof a sleeve 20 having screw thread coaction with thepipe section I8 and being provided with a seating surface 21 at one endand a continuous outwardly directed flange 22 adjacent the surface 2|, asleeve 23 having screw thread coaction with the pipe section I9 andprovided atone end with a seat 24 of comparatively soft materialsurrounded by outer screw threads 25, and a collar 26 provided with aflange 21 adapted to coact with the flange )22 of the sleeve 29 and alsobeing provided with 'screw'tl'ireads 2-8 adapted to coact with the screwthreads 25 of the sleeve l23-to draw the seating surface 2| of thesleeve 20 into seating contact with the seat 2 1 of the sleeve 23 whentightened.

In order to apply my improved gas mixer to a the flange I! in engagementwith the end of this pipe section [9 so as to retain the body II] inposition. The pipe sections I8, [9 may thereafter again be united byconnecting the screw threads 28 of the collar 26 with the screw threads25 of the sleeve 23, and firmly uniting the same with the aid of awrench or the like. When the collar 26 has been tightly screwed upon thesleeve 23, the flange 21 of the collar 26 will co-operate with theflange 22 of the sleeve 20 to force the seating surface 2| into snugcontact with the spherical seat 24 of the sleeve 23 thereby producing anextremely tight union and sealing the gas feed line with the improvedgas mixer properly positioned therein.

The gas, air and moisture may thereafter be delivered under pressurefrom a source of supply through the inlet pipe section 18 in relativelyunmixed condition before entering the cylindrical body ID at the concaveend H via the passage 15, After leaving the passage I5 the gas, air andmoisture enter the mixing well [3 wherein they are thoroughly mixed byvirtue of the sudden expansion thereof within the well and the constantcirculating action therein. As the gas becomes thoroughly mixed with theair and moisture, a homogeneous mixture is produced, and the pressurecreated by the subsequent gas forces the mixture through the passage [6and pipe section [9 to the point of combustion. By virtue of thethorough mixing of the ingredients in the well [3 and the reduction insize of the passages I5, Hi, the combustible nature of the resultingproduct is greatly increased, and gas consumption is thereby reducedwhile a more uniform flame results. The well 13 also serves as acleaning chamber since any solid particles which might be entrained bythe gas, air and moisture through the passage I5, will drop to thebottom of the well [3, thereby assuring delivery of pure mixture throughthe pasage l6, and reducing the possibility of burner clogging. Ihedevice may be readily withdrawn from the feed line by uncoupling thepipe sections as heretofore explained, and the plug or closure I4 may beremoved to facilitate cleaning of the Well [3 when necessary.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, the closure [4 hasbeen omitted from the well l3, and a band It of rubber, asbestos or thelike encircling the cylindrical body I0 at the Well I3 has beensubstituted. Since the general construction of the modified device issubstantially the same and the union illustrated is identical with thatshown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the same reference characters have beenutilized to designate corresponding parts. The band l4 additionallyserves to center the cylindrical body H1 within the pipe section [9,besides functioning as a tight closure for the well [3, and this band ispreferably either formed of elastic material or should be slide fittedabout the body [0 so as to permit ready access to the well l3.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that animproved gas mixer unit is provided, which may be readily constructed ofany suitable inexpensive material such as rubber, metal, plastic orcork, at extremely low cost and may be manufactured in various standardsizes to fit standard gas feed lines. The device may be quickly andproperly installed by a novice, and the particular formation of theconcave inlet end and convex outlet end and of the passages l5, 16, notonly serves to naturally conduct the gaseous constituents to and awayfrom the unit, but also provides an assemblage which facilitates correctinstallation. While one particular type of standard pipe union has beenillustrated, the device may nevertheless be similarly installed whereother types of unions are utilized. The improved mixer has proven highlyefficient in actual use, and the particular formation of the passagesand mixing well insures thorough and complete cleaning and mixing of theelements.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of use,herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scopeof the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A gas mixer adapted for confinement within a gas pipe, andcomprising, a one-piece body having a smooth cylindrical peripheralsurface formed for snug axial insertion within the pipe, said body beingprovided with a medial cylindrical well extending across andapproximately perpendicular to the central body axis and open forinspection at said peripheral surface, and said body also havingstraight cylindrical passages connecting upper and lower portionsrespectively of said well with the central opposite end portions of thebody.

2. A gas mixer adapted for confinement within a gas pipe, andcomprising, a one-piece body having a smooth cylindrical peripheralsurface formed for snug axial insertion within the pipe, said body beingprovided with a medial cylindrical well extending across andapproximately perpendicular to the central body axis and open forinspection at said peripheral surface, and said body also havingstraight cylindrical passages connecting upper and lower portionsrespectively of said well with the central opposite end portions of thebody, and a removable closure for the well inspection opening attachedto said body.

3. A gas mixer adapted for confinement within a gas pipe, andcomprising, a one-piece cylindrical body having a smooth cylindricalperipheral surface formed for snug axial insertion within a pipe andalso having a conical recess in one end and a similarly conicalprojection at its opposite end, said body being provided with a medialcylindrical well extending across and approximately perpendicular to thecentral body axis and open for inspection at said peripheral surface,

FREDERICK T. JAECKEL.

